Grain door



Apr. 3, 1923.v 11,450,792

J. R. BILLINGS, JR

GRAIN DOOR Filed May l5, 1922 '2 sheets-sheet l A TTORNE Y.

Apna, 1923.

31,450,792 J. R. BILLINGS, JR

GRAIN DOOR Filed May l5, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 f2 njr'v r-e ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

JOHN R. IBILLIN'GS, JR., OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.

GRAIN DOOR.

Application filed May 13, 1922.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN R. BILLINGS, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Durham, in the county of Durham and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain Doors, of which the following is a speci fication.

This invention relates to grain doors of railway cars, and has for one of its objects to provide a simply constructed device of this character which may be extended to iit varying sizes of doorway openings, and collapsible to enable it to be returned to the shipper for repeated use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character constructed of a plurality of sections movably united and which may be adjusted to fit varying sizes of doorway openings, locked against the pressure of the grain in the car, and releasable to permit the pressure of the grain to collapse the door sections for removal from the car.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention Figure 1 is a view of a portion of the side of a conventional grain car, including one of the doorway openings, with the improved grain door arranged therein and viewed from the exterior of the car.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the locking devices arranged to permit the door sections to be collapsed.

Fig. 3 .is a similar view showing the lockingdevices arranged to hold the door from.v

collapsing.

Fig. 4 is an elevation, on a reduced scale, of the improved door from the interior of the car with the locking devices in position to hold the door sections in position to becollapsed.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 'with the locking devices arranged as in Fig. 4.

Serial No. 560,651.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the locking devices in position to hold the door sections from being collapsed.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail of the locking device with the parts arranged to hold the door sections in position to be collapsed.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8. y

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 with the locking devices arranged to hold the door sections from being collapsed.

Fig. 12 is an end elevation showing the door sections in collapsed or folded position.

Figure 13, is a sectional fragmentary view showinga spacing bar and its connection with a door body section. Y

The improved door is formed of coacting door body sections 10 each reinforced at their side and upper and lower edges by reinforcing strips or members 11.

The body sections 10 may be constructed of any suitable material, but will preferably be of boards with tongue and groove, ship lap, or other suitable joints to render them grain proof.

The members 11 are attached to the inner faces of the section 10, or toward the interior of the car, and connected to the outer faces of the body members 10 are reinforcing braces or binder members 12.

The reinforcing members 11 and binder members 12 of each door body section 10, are connected therewith b y suitable holdfast devices, and the top and bottom reinforcing members 11, of one door body section 10 are connected to the top and bottom reinforcing members l1, of the other door body section 10 by the hinges 13.

Disposed over the door body sections 10, intermediate the members 11 are coacting locking bars 14 engaging end to end and having the opposed ends hingedly united as at 15. The bars 14 are also each hingedly united near each end to the door body sections 10, as represented at 16. By this means the bars 14 may be disposed Hatwse against 100 the body portions 10 with the pintles ot the hinges 13 and 15 in vertical alinement, as in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, or turned on the hinges 16 to dispose the bars edgewise against the sec tions 10, or at right angles to the body sections as shown in Figs. G, 7 and 11. When the members 14 are disposed as in Figs. 2, 4, 5 and 8 the pin-tles of the hinges 13 and 15 will be in vertical alinen'ient so that the door sections can be folded together as in Fig. 12, and it' the members 14 be disposed asin Figs. 3, 6, 7 and 9 the pintles ot the hinge 15 will be moved out of alinement with the pintles of the hinges 13, consequently the bars 14 will operate as a lock to hold the body members 10 rigidly in transverse alinement.

Pivoted at 17 and 18 to the bars 14 are short levers 19 and 20, the levers being pivotally united at their contronting ends to the pintle 21 of the hinge 15, the pintle being extended at the ends to receive the levers, as "shown more clearly in Figs. S and 9.

The small levers 19 and 20 are disposed upon the opposite edges o'l2 the members 14 and operate to reinforce the hinges 15 and materially increase and stiften the joint between the members 14, and correspondingly increase the resisting power at the juncture of the door sections when the members 14 are vdisposed in locking position as shown in Figs. 3, 6 and 11.

`One ot the members 1 4 is provided with an eyebolt 22 to which a pull cord 24 is attached intermediate its ends and is passed 'through apertures 25 in one ot theV door' body sections 10 above and below the members 14 and Aprovided with hooks 26 at the ends adapted to be engaged with a staple 44, as show-n, the operation and object to be hereafter explained.

Extending transversely of, as well as being secured to each door body section 10, centrally thereof, is a reinforcing member V31, which is positioned between the members 12 arranged at the sides of the section Secured to the outer tace olf each door body section 10, at a point between its vertical center and its outer side edge is a vertically disposed cleat 27, which extends over 'the member 31 and upon the upper and lower members and between these latter 'and the member 31, the cleat 27, is spaced from the section 10.

Positioned against the outer tace of' each door body section 10 and interposed therebetween and a. cleat 27 is a plurality of slidable lslotted plates 30, as shown three in number, two positioned in proximity to the lower edgeso't the members 12, 31, and the other in proximity to the upper edge of the bottom 'member 1Q. The plates 30 extend onto the outerlside member-12, and are connected to a vertical spacing lbar 28 capable of sliding on the top, bottom and outer side members 12.

The spacing bars 28 carried by the door body sections 1l) are adapted to be adjusted to bear against the side posts 29, ot the doorway opening to set up a grain tight joint between the door posts 29 and the door body sect'i ons, as is shown in Figures 2 Vand 3.

The plates 30 provide means, in connection with the cleats 2T and clamping bolts 32, for coupling the bars .2S to the door body sections 10, the clamping bolts 32 are not 'only employed for connecting the plates 30 to the door body sections 10, but also for securing the spacing bars 2T in their adjusted position.

The clamping bolts 3&2 are carried by the door body sections 10? and each of said bolts extends through a lengthwise slot 3Q 'formed in each plate 30, and bear against the outer faces ot the plates 30 when the bolts are screwed inwardly..

Fach of the spacing bars is provided with a plurality oit latching elements for securing the bars to a door post 29, and each of the latching elements is in the -form of a bolt 33 carried by a slotted keeper Each bolt 33 has a knob or lug 31 which projects trom the keeper rhe bolts 33 are adapted to engage in the door posts 29st:- curing the bars QS therei'vith.l as well as locking the door body sections in position.

The door body sections 10 are ot greater combined width than the widest doorway openings which may be met with in the various sizes of cars employed, and the spacing bars 28 are capable ot being expanded to t the widest and narrowest doorway openings, hence the improved device may be adapted to doorway openings ot varying widths, as will be obvious.

Formed through one or both oit the door body sections 10 near the bottom is a relatively small discharge opening 34, and attached to the outer itaces ot the door body sections 10 and enclosing each ot the openings 34 is an oblong Jframe 35 including guideways to slidably receive a cutoit plate or slide 86.

By this means the grain may be discharged in relatively small streams when required. in the usual manner. I

Extending transversely ot the 'trames 35 are supportii'ig bars 37 and extending Yfrom each ot the bars is a perforated lug 38 and extending from each ot the sliding closures 36 is a correspondingly perforated lug 39. The lug 39 serres as a hand grip to enable the closure 36 to be elevated` and when the lugs are superposed when the members are closed, they provide means tor the ap'- plication ot a lock or seal t'o prevent the accidental or surreptitious opening of the closure. j

Attached to the inner faces of the door body sections 10 at their adjacent edges are supporting members 40, and attached to one of the members 40 is a covering member 41 extending over the other member 40 and bridging the confronting edges of the body member to prevent leakage.

Swingingly coupled at 42 to one of the members 40 is a hasp 43, and extending from the other member` 40 is an eye bo-lt 44 over which a slot in the free end of the hasp engages, the eye bolt adapted to receive the hook 2G or other suitable fastening device. rihe member 41 is divided to receive the hasp 43. A lock of suitable form may also be inserted through the eye of the eye bolt to lock the door sections in position.

By this means the door sections may be locked in closed position and supplement the action of the holding bars 14.

Formed in the outer edge of one of the door body sections 10 is an outwardly opening slot 46, and swinging at 47 to the other door body section is a rod 48 threaded at the outer end to receive a holding nut .49, the rod adapted to enter the slot when the door sections are folded as in Fig. 12, and bound tightly in folded position by setting upon the binding nut.

Tear plates 50 are attached to the body portions 10 and slotted to correspond to the slot 46.

By this means the door sections may be placed in condition for return to the shipper to be used again.

In using the improved device the sections 10 with their attachments are located over the doorway opening of the car and inside the car with the side edges overlapping the posts 29, and the members 28 adjusted to bear against the confronting faces of the posts, and the bolts 33 applied. The pull cord 24 is then manipulated to turn the members 14 on the hinges 16 into edgewise position relative to the sections 10, as shown in Figs. 3, 6, 7 and 11, to lock the door sections in longitudinal alinement.

The pull cable 24 is coupled to the eye 22 so that the lock of the members 14 may be broken and the door sections released by a pulling force applied to the cable in one direction to permit them to be buckled outwardly either b v the pressure of the grain within the car or manually, to permit them to be removed from the car.

One of the hooks 26 at one end of the pull cable 24 will preferably be inserted in the staple member 44 to hold the hasp in position.

lf the grain is to be discharged. into a wagon body or other similar relatively restricted receptacle, one or both of the clo sures 36 are opened, but if the grain is to be discharged bodily, or if the door sections are to be removed, cable 24 is pulled to draw the bars 14 into iiatwise position against the body portions 10, or into the position shown Iin Figs. 2, 4, 5, 8, 9,. and 10, thus disposing the door sections for shipment or storage,

as before described, and as shown in Fig. 12.

The improved device is simple in construction. can be made entirely of wood except the fittings, and operates very satisfactorily for the purposes described.

The preferred embodimentof thc invention is disclosed in the drawings and set forth in the specification, but it will be understood that modifications within the scope of the claimed invention may be made in thc construction without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. A grain door comprising a. body portion formed of a pair of sections. means for hinging said sections top 'ether near their top and bottom edges, a locking bar comprising` a pair of opposed sections hingedlv united at their opposed ends and each hingedly united near each end to a door section whereby the bar sections operate to lock the door sections when in one position and permit the door sections to collapse when in their other position.

2. A grain door comprising a body portion formed of a pair of sections. means for hinging said sections together near their top and bottom'edges` a locking bar comprising a pair of opposed sections hingedlv united at their opposed ends and each hingedly united near each end to a door section whereby the bar sections operate to lock the door sections when in one position and permit the door sections to collapse when in their other position, reinforcing levers pivotally attached to the longitudinal sections of tho bar and further pivotally connected to the ends of the pintles of the hinges for uniting` the opposed ends of the bar sections.

3 A grain door comprising a body portion comprised of two sections. moa-ns for hinging the opposed sides of said sections together at the tops and bottoms thereof, a locking` bar formed of a` pair of sections, meansifor hinging the oppose-d ends of the sections of the locking bar together. means for hinging each bar section to a door section, the pintles of the hinges for connecting the bar sections to the door sections being disposed at right angles with respect to the pintleof the hinge for connecting the bar sections together.

4. A grain door comprising a body portion comprised of two sections, means for hinging the opposed sides of said sections together at the tops and bottoms thereof, a locking bar formed of a pair of sections,

MMD

ineens for hinginp; the opposed ends of the sections of the lookinga hai' together, means foi' hinging erich bei' section to e door section. the pintles of the hinges for Connecting' the hai1 sections to the door sections heingjY disposed aty right :ingles with respect to the pintie of the hinge for connecting` the bei.1 sections together, and L lever device pivotally attached to the Yhinge for connecting the ends of the bar sections together and 10 further pvotally connected to the bar seetions.

In testimony whereof, I ax my signature hereto.

JOHN R. BILLINGS, JR. 

